Cascina Spinasse

One of the benefits of living in Olympia is it's close proximity to all of the deliciousness in Seattle. Amazing restaurants. Amazing. I have been wanting to try Cascina Spinasse is Seattle for quite some time. Cascina Spinasse has a cult following. The chef was awarded "Best New Chef" by Food and Wine. The only one in Seattle. The restaurant is small, and in a foodie town reservations are coveted.



Our good friends (who love great food) from Olympia wanted to try a new restaurant in Seattle and we settled on Spinasse. And what a good choice it was. We nestled into our cozy little table in the quaint restaurant. You feel like Seattle has met Florence when you enter the small, perfectly lit, lively but not too loud, atmosphere. Jeans or khakis. Straight from work or date night.

To start, we enjoyed radicchio salad with braised rabbit, cauliflower flan with salmon roe, sunchoke with meyer lemon and anchovy, prosciutto with apples and black mustard seeds. Mmmmm. (The cauliflower flan was ridic.) Next we tried the butternut squash ravioli with amaretti, tajarin with brown butter and sage as well as ragu, (OMG) and tagliatelle with lamb ragu. We followed that with veal cabbage rolls, and salmon with spinach. I wasn't about to skip desert at this place, so we finished things up with Italian coffee (ab fab), goat cheese mousse with blood oranges and puff pastry (my fav), ricotta dumplings with chocolate, and a fabulous terrine. Again. Yum!



I would highly recommend Cascina Spinasse, for its food, service, and atmosphere. We had a very enjoyable evening in a relaxed atmosphere. Delicious! (Make reservations well in advance, as this place is a bit of a hot table.) Thanks to our fabulous friends for a great dinner and excellent company.

-last photo courtesy of theprofessionaleater.com-

Eating in Scottsdale

6 Par Farmer likes to tell people about what I first said when he told me he spent the winters in Scottsdale. "Phoenix is the second worst place I have ever been. I don't know why anyone would live there." So... I am not known for having a lot of tact. Or any.

Good thing I have changed my tune. After spending some time down here, both last year and this year, I have grown to really like Scottsdale. It will never mesmerize me the way a good ski town does, but I can say with confidence, "It is great!" Some of my favorite things to do down here are hike, ride cruisers to happy hour, and eat. (Good thing I like hiking AND eating, because otherwise, the results could be disastrous.) And we have discovered some excellent restaurants!

Up in the Kierland Commons there is a yuppie lunch spot called Zinc Bistro that sells overpriced entrees and glasses of French wine I can't help but love. I had the scallops and shrimp in corn broth with fresh corn. Sister had the Zinc Burger with bacon and blue cheese. Seriously good!



My absolute favorite place to eat down here is FnB. It is right in Old Town Scottsdale, has fabulous, creative food, in a casually upscale atmosphere. We tried almost everything on the menu and loved it all! The blood orange sticky cake was especially good.



My mom bought us a gift certificate to Avanti for Christmas. We didn't know what to expect. She found it on the internet and the website is much different than the restaurant. It is located on the "fringe" of a not so great and an excellent neighborhood. There was a taco stand next door, but a lot of cars in the lot. It had fabulously 70's/80's decor and a definite Italian/Tony Soprano vibe. We had gnocchi, ravioli, Caesar salad, chicken parm, tiramisu, and caramel flan. It was all very traditional and well prepared. The service was attentive and fun with Italian spoken by the waiters and patrons. It was full of bankers and bustling on a Tuesday night. We highly recommend it for an authentic experience in a sea of big box restaurants.





Oregano's is always a crowd pleaser. Have you heard of the Pizookie? A pizza cookie? Enough said...



I would be amiss not to mention 6 Par Farmer's favorite: Tee Pee. (I think he just likes it, because George Bush has eaten there.) It provides a charmingly dated atmosphere, tasty drinks, good food, and mediocre chips/salsa/rice/beans. It doesn't rise to the top of my list, but 6 Par Farmer loves it.



If you're headed down to Arizona to escape this crazy weather everywhere else in the world, check these places out. And if you need more recommendations, let me know. There are lots more. I will be joining you in the snow soon. Yay!